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"Set a project considering the future of Robin Hood Gardens, which was at that time being considered for both listing and demolition, James took on a provocative position of extending, densifying and remodelling the existing building with a powerful addition sitting over the existing buildings. James is an amazing draughtsman and developed his very own method of masterplanning and designing a project." Ed Frith Robin Hood Gardens -‘Dense and Tense’ “When some concrete monstrosity — sorry, I mean modernist masterpiece — fails to make the cut despite having expert opinion behind it, let’s find a third way.” So said Margaret Hodge, then Culture Minister, on deciding not to list Robin Hood Gardens. Some thought this would sound the death knell for Alison and Peter Smithson’s brave and brutal 1966 design. Developers and the local council are looking to demolish and replace the existing housing stock. This design proposal has found a third way; it proposes a new capacity for Robin Hood Gardens, one both dense and tense. It comes from research and reflection of both the context and the history. These were important in the Atelier’s focus on Robin Hood Gardens: creating a lively debate amongst the school, atelier, public and wider architectural audience that explored ways of retaining and enhancing the buildings......... To read more download the text document below 
Documents: James Walker - Project Text |